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United States Patent |
5,768,925
|
Ozawa
,   et al.
|
June 23, 1998
|
Electronic-component-integrated key
Abstract
An electronic-component-integrated key has a head and a key plate. The head
has an inside case portion, an outer sheath portion to be fixed to the
inside case portion from outside, and a recessed portion that is formed in
the inside case portion and arranged on the side of serrations of a key
plate, not on the side of a head portion 1a of the key plate, so as to be
substantially in parallel with the key plate. An electronic component is
held within the recessed portion by a holder, and an abutment portion of
the inside case portion is partially exposed to the outer surface of an
opening formed in the outer sheath portion. During the process of
manufacturing the electronic-component-integrated key, the following steps
are taken when the key plate is arranged within a cavity of a mold. The
key plate is fixed within the cavity by causing the abutment portion of
the inside case portion to be abutted against the mold, and the outer
sheath portion is thereafter formed on the outside of the inside case
portion by charging molten resin into the cavity.
Inventors:
|
Ozawa; Takurou (Kanagawa, JP);
Watanuki; Yoshio (Kanagawa, JP)
|
Assignee:
|
Alpha Corporation (Kanagawa, JP);
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Kanagawa, JP)
|
Appl. No.:
|
801924 |
Filed:
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February 14, 1997 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S. Class: |
70/408; 70/278.2; 70/395 |
Intern'l Class: |
E05B 019/04 |
Field of Search: |
70/408,278,395
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
4200227 | Apr., 1980 | Lemelson | 235/382.
|
4287835 | Sep., 1981 | Brunken et al. | 70/395.
|
4562712 | Jan., 1986 | Wolter | 70/456.
|
4922736 | May., 1990 | Tanaka et al. | 70/277.
|
5003801 | Apr., 1991 | Stinar et al. | 70/278.
|
5117097 | May., 1992 | Kimura et al. | 235/439.
|
5337588 | Aug., 1994 | Chhatwal | 70/278.
|
5433096 | Jul., 1995 | Janssen et al. | 70/278.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
2-156835 | Jun., 1990 | JP.
| |
4-6462 | Jan., 1992 | JP.
| |
4-79550 | Dec., 1992 | JP.
| |
WO 92/07156 | Apr., 1992 | WO.
| |
Primary Examiner: Lindsey; Rodney M.
Assistant Examiner: Pham; Tuyet-Phuong
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Nikaido Marmelstein Murray & Oram LLP
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/531,085 filed
Sep. 20, 1995, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electronic-component-integrated key comprising:
a key plate having a) a blade portion formed at a front end with serrations
which serve to give a key code and b) a head portion extending sideways
from a rear end of said blade portion;
a head being made of resin and fixed to an end portion of the key plate,
said head including
an inside case portion being made of hard resin and having a recessed
portion located parallel with and adjacent to a side of the blade portion,
said recessed portion having a front end extending toward the serrations
of the key plate and a rear end located adjacent to the head portion, and
an outer sheath portion being fixed to an outside of the inside case
portion and being made of soft resin; and
an electronic component arranged within the recessed portion of the inside
case portion, which is activated by a signal by an antenna outside said
key and which is rearwardly shielded by said head portion of the key
plate;
wherein abutment portions are formed on the inside case portion and are
partially exposed to the outer sheath portion.
2. An electronic-component-integrated key according to claim 1, wherein the
electronic component is held by a holder having elastic claws being
engaged within the recessed portion of the inside case portion.
3. An electronic-component-integrated key according to claim 1, wherein the
inside case portion has a pair of first and second case pieces; said first
case piece having elastic claws; said second case piece having through
holes; said elastic claws of first case piece are engaged with said
through holes to retain the first case piece with the second case piece.
4. An electronic-component-integrated key according to claim 1, wherein the
abutment portions of the inside case portion are exposed so as to be
substantially flush with the outer sheath portion.
5. An electronic-component-integrated key comprising:
a key plate having a) a blade portion formed at a front end with serrations
which serve to give a key code and b) a head portion extending sideways
from a rear end of said blade portion;
a head being made of resin and fixed to an end portion of the key plate,
said head including
an inside case portion being made of hard resin and having a recessed
portion located parallel with and adjacent to a side of the blade portion,
said recessed portion having a front end extending toward the serrations
of the key plate and a rear end located adjacent to a point where the head
portion extends sideways from the blade portion, and
an outer sheath portion being fixed to an outside of the inside case
portion and being made of soft resin; and
an electronic component arranged within the recessed portion of the inside
case portion, the electronic component being activated by a signal from an
antenna outside said key and the electronic component being rearwardly
shielded by said head portion of the key plate.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a key used for locking a lock system, and more
particularly to an electronic-component-integrated key capable of
incorporating an electronic component such as a transponder and a method
of manufacturing such electronic-component-integrated key.
For example, a key for use in motor vehicles disclosed in Unexamined
Japanese Utility Model Publication Hei-4-6462 includes: a key plate for
mechanically unlocking a lock system; and a transmitter for unlocking the
lock system by outputting an unlock signal that is propagated to the lock
system through the air. This key has a watertight case that contains the
transmitter and a base that has the key plate insert-molded therewith. The
watertight case and the base are releasably coupled to each other. Such a
key incorporates a transponder such as proposed, e.g., in Examined
Japanese Patent Publication Hei-4-79550 or in Unexamined Japanese Patent
Publication Hei-2-156835.
A conventional method of incorporating such transponder into the key is, as
shown in FIG. 14, such that: a recessed portion 52 is formed in a head 51
of the key 50, the head being made of resin; a holder 54 for containing a
transponder 53 is arranged inside the recessed portion 52; and the
transponder 53 is then inserted by force or with an adhesive between the
recessed portion 52 and the holder 54 to fix the holder 54.
The head shown in FIG. 14 is molded so as to cover the outer surface with
soft resin so that the user can not only enjoy a gentle touch but also be
protected from danger. The head is closed with a sliding mold so that the
soft resin will not leak into the recessed portion 52 during molding.
However, since the key must be fixed so as not to move in the key
inserting direction at the time the sliding mold is inserted, the blade
portion of the key is caused to be abutted against a mold die to regulate
the moving of the key due to the sliding mold being inserted.
In the conventional key 50 shown in FIG. 14, the recessed portion 52 is
formed at a position opposite to the blade portion of the key, and this
arrangement allows key operating force to be directly applied to the
recessed portion 52, from which arises a problem that the electronic
component will be damaged while subjected to excessive mechanical
deformation during the use of the key. In addition, since the recessed
portion 52 is not covered with the soft resin, the passenger gets hurt
when the passenger has his or her knee struck by the key. Moreover, the
head 51, being covered with the soft resin, does not allow the mold to be
abutted thereagainst. Therefore, the recessed portion 52 is necessarily
arranged at the position opposite to the blade portion of the key. This
arrangement also requires that an opening for passing a key holder ring or
the like therethrough be formed at a position that is not at the center,
thereby making it hard for the user to pass the ring through the opening.
Still further, the aforementioned Unexamined Japanese Utility Model
Publication No. Hei. 4-6462 proposes a key in which an electronic
component is integrated in a head made of mold resin. This design requires
screws for the assembly of the key.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is, therefore, to provide an
electronic-component-integrated key that can be resin molded by causing a
mold to reliably hold the key plate set within a cavity.
An electronic-component-integrated key of the invention has a key plate and
a head. The key plate has a blade portion for forming serrations that
serve to give a key code, and the head is made of resin and fixed to an
end portion of the key plate. The head has an inside case portion and an
outer sheath portion. The inside case portion is made of hard resin and
has a recessed portion that is arranged on the side of the serrations of
the key plate, not on the side of a head portion of the key plate, so as
to be substantially parallel with the key plate. The outer sheath portion
is fixed to the outside of the inside case portion and is made of soft
resin. An electronic component is arranged within the recessed portion of
the inside case portion. Abutment portions of the inside case portion are
partially exposed to the inner surface of an opening formed in the outer
sheath portion, the inner surface being on the side of the blade portion.
In the invention, the electronic component is held by a holder having
elastic claws that are engaged within the recessed portion of the inside
case portion. The inside case portion has a pair of case pieces. Elastic
claws are formed on one of the case pieces of the inside case portion,
whereas through holes are formed in the other case piece. The one case
piece is retained by the other case piece while engaging the elastic claws
of the one case piece with the through holes of the other case piece. The
abutment portions of the inside case portion are exposed so as to be
substantially flush with the outer sheath portion.
An electronic component, which is activated by a signal from the antenna of
a lock system, is arranged within the recessed portion of the inside case
portion. A hood portion is formed at the head portion of the key plate,
the hood portion extending sideways from the blade portion and surrounding
the electronic component in L-like form together with the blade portion.
A method of manufacturing an electronic-component-integrated key of the
invention involves the steps of: attaching the inside case portion to the
head portion of the key plate by setting the pair of case pieces to the
head portion of the key plate; not only fixing the key plate to a cavity
of a mold by arranging the key plate having the inside case portion
attached thereto in the cavity and then causing the abutment portions of
the inside case portion to be abutted against the mold, but also inserting
a sliding mold into the recessed portion of the inside case portion;
forming the outer sheath portion over the outside of the inside case
portion by charging molten resin into the cavity; not only removing the
sliding mold from the recessed portion of the inside case portion, but
also separating the key plate from the mold; and inserting an electronic
component into the recessed portion of the inside case portion. In an
embodiment of the invention, a post is arranged adjacent to the mold after
the blade portion of the key plate has been inserted into a receiving hole
of the post, and then the head portion of the key plate is arranged within
the cavity of the mold. The molten resin is charged between a plurality of
abutment portions arranged substantially perpendicularly to the key plate,
the molten resin serving to form the outer sheath portion. A stepped
portion formed by the pair of case pieces when the inside case portion is
attached to the head portion of the key plate is arranged within the
cavity so as to be displaced from a gate for charging the molten resin for
forming the outer sheath portion. Out of the pair of case pieces for
forming the stepped portion, one case piece close to the gate is made
thick and the other case piece remote from the gate is made thin. The soft
resin is charged into the through holes formed in the other case piece of
the inside case portion.
During manufacturing, the outer sheath portion is resin molded with the
abutment portions of the inside case portion abutted against the mold (the
abutment portions are exposed even after the inside case portion has been
covered with the outer sheath portion). Therefore, the key plate can be
fixed to the cavity stably during molding. In addition, the electronic
component is arranged within the recessed portion formed in the inside
case portion that is made of hard resin. Therefore, the electronic
component can be protected from external force. Moreover, the outer sheath
portion formed by soft resin can give a comfortable touch to the user and
can protect the user from collision-related danger when the key is used as
a key for motor vehicles. By engaging the elastic claws formed on the
holder with the recessed portion of the inside case portion, the holder
can be snapped to the head without screws.
If the openings of a plurality of electronic-component-integrated keys are
coupled to each other with a ring and a single
electronic-component-integrated key is inserted into the lock system, then
the key plate is interposed between the antenna of the lock system and the
electronic component of the other electronic-component-integrated key so
that the key plate serves as a metal shielding member.
The stepped portion formed by the pair of case pieces is arranged inside
the cavity so as to be displaced from the gate through which the molten
resin is charged to form the outer sheath portion. Therefore, the amount
of molten resin leaking into the interface between the pair of case pieces
is small. This contributes to reducing the amount of molten resin leaking
into the recessed portion, thereby allowing the recessed portion to be
given a designed degree of dimensional accuracy.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an electronic-component-integrated key, which
is an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along a line A--A of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along a line B--B of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the
electronic-component-integrated key of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a case piece used for the invention;
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the other case piece used for the invention;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along a line A--A of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along a line B--B of FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which a key plate having a head
attached thereto is inserted into a post;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along a line A--A of FIG. 9 with the key
plate being inserted into a mold;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along a line B-A of FIG. 9 with the key
plate being inserted into the mold;
FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a gate of the mold;
FIG. 13 is a side view showing a state in which one of a plurality of
electronic-component-integrated keys of the invention coupled through a
ring is inserted into a steering lock system; and
FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional
electronic-component-integrated key.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Electronic-component-integrated keys, which are the embodiments of the
invention, will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, an electronic-component-integrated key of the
invention includes: a key plate 1 and a head 2. The key plate 1 has a
blade portion 3 with serrations 3a for giving a key code formed thereon.
The head 2 is made of resin and fixed to an end portion of the key plate 1
including a head portion 1a. The key plate 1 has an annular hole 1b for
inserting a key ring and is T-shaped by both the blade portion 3 and the
head portion 1a that extends sideways from the blade portion 3. The head
portion 1a is embedded inside the head 2. The head 2 includes an inside
case portion 6, an outer sheath portion 8, and a holder 7. The inside case
portion 6 is made of hard resin. The outer sheath portion 8 is not only
fixed to the outside of the inside case portion 6 and to the outside of
the hole in the head 2, but also made of soft resin. The holder 7, which
is made of resin such as polypropylene, is to be inserted into a recessed
portion 5 that is formed by the inside case portion 6 and the outer sheath
portion 8 so as to be substantially parallel with the key plate 1.
To manufacture the key, a pair of case pieces 6a, 6b that constitutes the
inside case portion 6 shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 is prepared. The pair of case
pieces 6a, 6b is made by injection molding using hard resin such as
polypropylene, polyacetal, or polycarbonate. The case piece 6a has three
through holes 10, a groove 11 formed in the middle, a substantially
rectangular slot 12a, and stepped portions 6d, 6e. The slot 12ais formed
not only adjacent to the groove 11 but also closer to the blade portion 3
than the head portion 1a of the key plate 1. The stepped portions 6d, 6e
are formed in the slot 12a. The case piece 6b has three elastic claws 13
and a slot 12b. The elastic claws 13 correspond to the three through holes
10 of the case piece 6a. The slot 12b corresponds to the slot 12a of the
case piece 6a. When the case piece 6a is fitted over the case piece 6b
after the key plate 1 has been set into the groove 11 as shown in FIGS. 7
and 8, the elastic claws 13 of the case piece 6b are snapped into the
through holes 10 of the case piece 6a.
The recessed portion 5 is formed rather on the side of the serrations 3a of
the key plate 1, not on the side of the head portion 1a of the key plate
1, so as to be substantially parallel with the key plate 1. Within the
recessed portion 5 an electronic component 4 is held by the holder 7. The
holder 7 has elastic claws 9 that are not only engageable with the stepped
portions 6d, 6e within the recessed portion 5 of the inside case portion 6
but also elastically deformable. A portion 1c of the head portion 1a of
the key plate 1 which extends toward the electronic component 4 surrounds
the electronic component 4 in L-like form together with the blade portion
3.
The electronic component 4 includes: a substrate, and such electric
elements for forming electronic circuits as a coil antenna, capacitors, a
battery, a constant voltage circuit, a storage circuit, a signal forming
circuit, or an oscillator circuit. Since the outer sheath portion 8 is
formed by resin molding after the pair of case pieces 6a, 6b constituting
the inside case portion 6 has been formed and then attached to the key
plate 1, the inside case portion 6 can be shaped as desired in this
embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, two abutment portions 6c of the inside
case portion 6 are partially exposed to an inner surface portion of an
opening 8a so as to be flush with the outer sheath portion 8, the inner
surface portion being on the side of the blade portion 3 and the opening
8a being formed on the outer sheath portion 8.
FIG. 13 shows a state in which the openings 8a of the heads 2 of a
plurality of electronic-component-integrated keys are coupled to each
other through a ring 17 to thereby allow one of the
electronic-component-integrated keys to be inserted into a steering lock
system 15 and operated by gripping the heads 2 of both keys. When one of
the electronic-component-integrated keys is inserted into the steering
lock system 15 that has an antenna 16 wound, the base of the blade portion
and the hood portion 1c of the head portion of the key plate 1 are
interposed between the electronic component 4 inside the other
electronic-component-integrated key and the antenna 16, thereby
implementing metal shielding with the key plate 1. Therefore, even if
different electromagnetic induction signals 18 are generated from the
electronic components 4 of a plurality of electronic-component-integrated
keys, almost none of the electromagnetic induction signal of the
electronic component 4 at a the lower position is transmitted to the
antenna 16, which in turn allows only the electromagnetic induction signal
of the electronic component 4 at the upper position to be reliably
discriminated through the antenna 16.
Next, a manufacturing method of the electronic-component-integrated key as
shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described hereinafter. The key plate 1 is
set into a cavity 23 of a mold 22 with the blade portion 3 of the key
plate 1 inserted into a receiving hole 21 of a post 20 shown in FIG. 9.
While FIGS. 10 and 11 show an example in which a single key plate 1 is
inserted into the post 20, multi-cavity molding is implemented during the
actual key manufacturing process; i.e., a plurality of key plates are
molded while inserted into a plurality of receiving holes 21 of the post
20. The mold 22 has a lower mold 24 and an upper mold 25. The key plate 1
set into the cavity 23 formed by the lower mold 24 and the upper mold 25
is arranged so that not only the abutment portion 6c thereof is abutted
against a projection 24a of the lower mold 24 but also the serrations 3a
of the blade portion 3 are abutted against the outer surface of the post
20. As a result, the key plate 1 can be fixed to the cavity 23 stably.
Then, a sliding mold 26 is moved into the cavity 23, and an end portion of
the sliding mold 26 is inserted into the recessed portion 5 formed by the
slots 12a, 12b of the inside case portion 6. Being abutted against the
inner side of the abutment portion 6c, the key plate 1 is not moved by the
inserting of the sliding mold 26. Further, since a plurality of abutment
portions 6c are arranged so as to be perpendicular to the sliding mold 26
inserting direction, the key plate 1 does not rotate. When the sliding
mold 26 has been inserted into the recessed portion 5, the key plate 1 is
retained within the cavity 23 more reliably. The outer sheath portion 8 is
thereafter formed over the outside of the inner case portion 6 by charging
molten resin into the cavity 23.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, when the inside case portion 6 is
attached to the head portion 1a of the key plate 1, an L.sub.2 -long
stepped portion 6f that is formed by the pair of case pieces 6a, 6b is
positioned in the cavity 23 so as to be displaced from a gate 27 by a
distance L.sub.1, the gate 27 serving to charge the molten resin to form
the outer sheath portion 8. Out of the pair of case pieces 6a, 6b that
forms the stepped portion 6f, the case piece 6a close to the gate 27 is
made thick, whereas the other case piece 6b remote from the gate 27 is
made thin. Soft resin is charged into the through holes 10 formed in the
case piece 6a, which is one of the case pieces of the inside case portion
6. Since the stepped portion 6f formed at the interface between the case
pieces 6a, 6b is positioned in the cavity 23 so as to be displaced from
the gate 27 for charging the molten resin to form the outer sheath portion
8, the molten resin that is injected from the gate 27 at the molten resin
injection start is not directly forced into the interface between the pair
of case pieces 6a, 6b (the stepped portion), thereby contributing to
reducing the amount of molten resin entering into the interface between
the case pieces 6a, 6b. As a result, the amount of molten resin entering
into the recessed portion 5 is likewise reduced, and this prevents
repulsive force from being applied to the case pieces 6a, 6b by the
injection pressure, and therefore contributes to giving a desired degree
of dimensional accuracy to the recessed portion into which the electronic
component 4 is inserted.
Further, since the molten resin for forming the outer sheath portion 8 is
charged between the pair of abutment portions 6c, there is no gap
interposed between the periphery of each abutment portion 6c and the outer
sheath portion 8. Still further, since the molten resin for forming the
outer sheath portion 8 is charged also in the through holes 10, the case
pieces 6a, 6b can be fixed reliably. As the soft resin for forming the
outer sheath portion 8, rubber-based resins such as polystyrene butadiene
or vinyl chloride resins are used.
After the outer sheath portion 8 has been formed over the outside of the
inside case portion 6, not only the sliding mold 26 is removed from the
recessed portion 5 of the inside case portion 6, but also the key plate 1
is taken out of the mold 22. Then, after the electronic component 4 has
been inserted into the recessed portion 5 of the inside case portion 6,
the holder 7 is attached to the recessed portion 5. In this embodiment,
the recessed portion 5 is formed on the side of the serrations 3 of the
key plate 1, not on the side of the head portion 1a of the key plate 1, so
as to be substantially parallel with the key plate 1. The holder 7 is
arranged so as to confront the key hole of a not shown lock system.
Further, the plurality of elastic claws 9 formed on the holder 7 are
engaged with the stepped portions 6d, 6eto make the holder 7 unrelesable
from the recessed portion 5.
The electronic component 4 set into the recessed portion 5 of the inside
case portion 6 made of hard resin is protected against external force, and
the outer sheath portion 8 made of soft resin gives the user an agreeable
touch. Further, by engaging the elastic claws 9 formed on the holder 7
with the stepped portions 6d, 6eof the recessed portion 5 of the inside
case portion 6, the holder 7 can be snapped into the head 2 without
employing screws. Further, the key plate 1 can be fixed to the cavity
stably during molding since the outer sheath portion 8 is injection-molded
with the abutment portions 6c abutted against the mold 22 during
manufacturing, the abutment portions 6c being formed so as to be
substantially flush with the outer sheath portion 8 that covers the inside
case portion 6.
As described in the foregoing, the invention is characterized as allowing
the key plate set in the cavity to be resin molded with the key plate 1
reliably held. Therefore, a high-quality key having a head covered with
soft resin can be manufactured. In addition, since it is on the opening
that the abutment portions are formed, not only the sliding mold can be
inserted from the side of the blade portion, but also the insertion hole
of the recessed portion can be arranged on the side of the blade portion.
Therefore, the electronic component 4 is not damaged by key operations,
which in turn contributes to preventing danger.
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